Site of Doza

The site of the former Copper Guild (Dōza) is located in front of Aishu Kindergarten, about a 3-minute walk from Yodoyabashi Station (subway). Today, only a stone monument remains, marking that a Dōza—an office that managed copper—once existed here in 1766. In the Edo period, copper was a valuable export commodity. The Dōza purchased raw copper (arakudō) from copper mines, gathered it, and forwarded it to Nagasaki for shipment. The former Dōza site is now home to Aishu Kindergarten, which itself is notable: it opened in 1880 (Meiji 13) and is the oldest surviving kindergarten in the city. The current kindergarten building was completed in 1901 (Meiji 34), and the building is also worth seeing as a historic structure. However, this kindergarten building is unrelated to the original Dōza. Nearby is Dōza Park, which is lively with local children. Because it is located along the road one block south of Tekijuku, many visitors see the Dōza monument together with Tekijuku. Surrounded by Osaka’s modern office buildings, the small monument’s contrast with the cityscape is part of the appeal.